The entire life of Joseph is summarized in Genesis 50:20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” The teenager we met at the beginning of the story is now over a hundred years …Read More

We often talk about how God is “sovereign” over all things. The term has to do with God’s providential control over His creation — that is to say, everything that exists — and, in different contexts, with His action in …Read More

Context is everything. Consider for a moment the text that gives this column its name. My job here is to take whatever theme the editors have come up with for a given issue, and tie it into the call of …Read More

If you want to start a debate, simply ask a group of Christians to explain what the Bible has to say about church government. If you want to start a shouting match, ask them what the Bible has to say …Read More

Jesus promised that the kingdom of God would come in power before some of His hearers faced death (Mark 9:1). After His resurrection, He again spoke to His disciples about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). On the day of …Read More

When Jesus started his earthly ministry, he began by “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23). Yet nowhere in the Gospels do we see Jesus giving a clear definition of the kingdom. The reason is simple: Jesus didn’t have …Read More

The gospel of Luke ends with a supremely jarring statement: “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into …Read More

What is the kingdom of God? It’s a simple question, yet if I were to ask that same question to a hundred theologians I would likely get a hundred different answers. The kingdom of God is not some sort of …Read More

I enjoy looking at maps. Not only are they helpful tools to navigate unfamiliar territory, they also provide a unique “big-picture” view from an omniscient vantage point. Do you ever wish there was a map available to show where your …Read More